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Class I^X'] '{- 



ATLANTA 

A TWENTIETH-CENTURY 

CITY 



The Illuminated Cover of 
this Pamphlet is a reproduc- 
tion of the Famous Picture 

"ATLANTA BY NIGHT" 

published by Harper's Weekly 
in the issue of October loth, 
1903, and here presented by 
courtesy of Harper & Bros. 



,,., , . ISSUED BY THE 

Atlanta CHamber of Commerce 

1904 

THE BYRD PRINTING CO , ATLANTA 



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How Atlanta Grew. 




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'HE Atlanta of to-day is a growth 
of thirty-eight years. Twice has 
the upbuilding of a city on this 
site demonstrated its natural advantages. 
\\'ithin a few years before the war 
-^.Atlanta had become a bustling town of 
11,000 inhabitants, and during the three 
years which intervened before its destruc- 
tion the place was the seat of varied and 
important industries, whose principal 
object was to sustain the military 
operations of the Confederacy. It was also a depot for the distribution 
of supplies to the surrounding country and a forwarding station for the 
commissary department of the army. 

After its baptism of fire in November, 180-1, when the inhabitants 
had been dispersed by the exigencies of war. and of more than 2,000 
houses only 300 remained, the city took a new start, and its great growth 
dates from that time. It is therefore, a city of the new regime, erected 
on the ruins of the old. 

The coat of arms of Atlanta fittingly typifies this remarkable history. 
No city on the continent has survived such destruction. No city has 
twice attained prominence with such rapidity. Atlanta's foundation 
reaches back to the forties, and far-seeing men recognized it then as the 
place of promise, destined to be an important railroad-center and a seat 
of commerce. This conception of the new city had been accepted as a 
true one when it was destroyed by fire, and since its new birth in 
reconstruction days the old spirit arose and lighted the new path of 
Atlanta to a greater destiny. 

The capital of the state was brought here from IMilledgeville when 
the new city was hardly out of the ashes of war, and this gave a great 
impetus to its growth, which was further insured in 1877, when the 
people of Georgia voted to make Atlanta their capital. Its rapidly 
developing business and manufactures were brought to the attention of 
the whole country by the Cotton Exposition of 1881 which was a point 
of departure for the tremendous development of the Southeastern States 
during the decade between 1880 and 1890. This development found a 
splendid illustration in the great Cotton States and International 
Exposition of 1895. 

The rapidity of the growth of Atlanta is illustrated by the fact that, 
since it was blotted from the map. the city has spread over twelve square 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




STATE CAl'iTOi^. 



miles of ground. Starting with no business in ISfio, it received in 1903 
four-tenths of the freight delivered in Georgia, and its postoffice receipts 
were four-tenths of those of the State. Thirty-nine years ago there 
was hardly a dollar to turn a trade; within the year just closed the bank 
clearings aggregated $145,000,000. At the beginning of this period 
there were only a few stragglers remaining in the wake of fire and sword. 
To-day there is a great city of over 105,000 people, t he business 
headquarters of 125,000, with a floating population of many thousands 
more. From bare ground covered with ashes and ruins in 18G5, the 
city has been built up to a value of $59,595,3:33, consisting largely of 
solid masses of brick and mortar, stone and steel, which go to make up 
a magnificent array of handsome business edifices. The number of 
houses has increased from 300 to 22, GOO. 

The question, wherefore Atlanta? naturally arises, for communities 
are not effects without causes. Atlanta is the result of a combination of 
advantages, on a commanding geographical location, turned to the best 
account by a spirit of transcendent energy, which surmounts all obstacles 
and builds even on disaster the fabric of success. The growth of this 
unconquerable spirit has been promoted by a unity of purpose which has 
prevented the domination of factions. Whatever local interests may 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



clash, the good of Atlanta is always a rallying cry. The Atlanta spirit, 
which has accomplished so much in the upbuilding of the city itself, is 
happily contagious, and lias much to do with making Georgia the Empire 
State of the South. The spirit of new life has spread from this to other 
Southern States which are the most active in the development of their 
resources, and the spirit of the Southeast is the spirit of Atlanta. 

For this moral and material eminence Atlanta is fortunately situated 
on a ridge which divides the watershed of the Atlantic from that of the 
Gulf, and at a point where the natural barrier of the Appalachian chain 
is broken by great gaps in the mountains. This is the natural point of 
intersection for railway lines from the West with lines from the East. 

This geographical vantage ground is accompanied by a topographical 
eminence, from which the great climatic advantages of Atlanta are 
derived. More than 1,000 feet above sea-level at its lov/est point, and 
from eleven to twelve hundred at other places, Atlanta enjoys a cool, 
bracing atmosphere, with breezes that blow over the foot-hills of the 
Blue Ridge. The exhilarating air is a kind of natural tonic, so different 
from that of the coast and Gulf regions that an inhabitant of the low 
countries, coming to Atlanta during the heated term, feels a stimulus as 
if he had been drinking great draughts of aerial champagne. The rolling 
surface of the country, which slopes in almost every direction from the 
city affords easy drainage and keeps the surrounding region free from 
malaria. 

Atlanta's public buildings typify the solid character of her institutions. 
Most conspicuous among them is the State capitol, which was erected at 
a cost of .$1,000,000. This stately structure, the hotels, office buildings, 
theaters, churches, the custom-house, the county court-house, and other 
public edifices, make up an aggregate of ten millions invested in public 
buildings. 

Outside of public buildings, the architecture of Atlanta is of a pleasing 
character and has steadily improved during the past thirty years. Few 
cities in any part of the United States can show more attractive residence 
streets or architectural designs indicating more culture and good taste. 
Peachtree Street, the principal one for residences, has a number of elegant 
homes which would be ornaments to any city. 

Atlanta is a city of homes, and this is apparent not only in the 
appearance of the houses, but in the statistics of the United States census, 
by which Atlanta is credited with a larger percentage of home-owners 
than any city of its size in the Southern States. 

The water-supply for domestic and manufacturing purposes and for 
sanitary use is hardly equaled in any city of Atlanta's size, and the rates 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City 




KIMBALL HOUSE. 



per thousand gallons for fan:ilies or for manufacturing purposes are 
merely nominal, and probably lower than any on record. 

Conditions in Atlanta are highly favorable to manufacturing 
industries, and this is attested by the great variety of articles made here. 
There were in IDOO 395 establishments, employing over 9,000 operatives 
at good wages, and pouring into the channels of trade an annual pay-roll 
of $3,100,000. The value of the raw material consumed was more than 
$8,000,000 and the product between sixteen and seventeen millions. Since 
then the product has increased to $27,000,000 and the number of wage 
earners to 11,000. 

The manufacturers of Atlanta in their variety have a guaranty of 
stability not to be found in those of any city where industry is confined 
to one family, as of iron or cotton, however important that may be, and 
the extent of this variety is to some degree indicated in the chapter on 
this subject. Among the articles made are many specialties, for which 
there is a demand in almost every State in the Union, and concerns 
making them have enjoyed prosperity through a long series of years. 

The trade of Atlanta covers more or less all of the States between 
the Ohio and Potomac rivers, the Gulf, the Atlantic ocean and the 



Atlanta — A Twextieth-Cextury City. 



jNIississippi River, and in some lines extends to the far Southwestern 
States and into Mexico, while in a few it covers the entire country. The 
tendencv of the johiMng trade of the Southeast is to concentrate in 
Atlanta, and little by little the business of other centers gravitates to 
this city. 

Atlanta's commandin.g geographical and topographical situation was, 
at the outset, one of the causes which led to the development of a great 
railroad center, at which powerful systems from the East, the West and 
the Southeast regularly compete. As a distributing point Atlanta enjoys 
facilities hardly equaled elsewhere in the Southeastern States, and as 
an accessible place of rendezvous for all kinds of organizations and 
interests, it is a favorite, and has come to be known as the Convention City. 

Atlanta's financial institutions are of the most solid character. 

Atlanta is the third city in the United States in the amount of 
insurance written and reported to agencies. It is the Southern head- 
quarters for a number of fire and life insurance companies, and agencies 
of old-line and every other type of insurance are numerous. 

The educational facilities of Atlanta are fully treated in a separate 




ARAGON HOTEL. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 





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^rl^DMONT HOTEL. 

chapter, in which it appears that this city is abreast of the times in this 
as in other respects. Atlanta early established a system of public schools, 
and before almost any city in the Sonth, turned its attention to technical 
education. The Technological School was established by the State of 
Georgia upon inducements offered by the city of Atlanta, which bore half 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Ckntury City, 



of the cost of the orig-hial plant, and contributes regularly to the support 
of the institution. There is ample opportunity here for technical 
instruction of other kinds, and Atlanta has three medical colleges, whose 
attendance averages (500, to say nothing of the students of the dental 
colleges. Technical instruction in business methods is not neglected, and 
several large and flourishing business colleges have maintained themselves 
here for many years. 

The religious and social atmosphere of Atlanta is wholesome antl 
invigorating. It is a city of churches and the home of church-going 
people, and the community is honey-combed with fraternal organizations. 

The social intercourse of the people, as well as the facility for doing 
business, is greatly aided by an ideal system of rapid transit, not only 
from the residence and suburban sections to the center, but from on 3 
residence portion to another. The neighborly spirit is enhanced by the 
nearness thus artificially created. 

With all these advantages, and many which appear more fully in 
subsequent chapters, iVtlanta has a wholesome and inspiring public spirit 
which never fails to respond when the interests of the city are at stake. 
This is perhaps the most distinctive thing about Atlanta. 




GRANT PARK. 



The New Atlanta. 



Population, A.rea stnd Government. 

ATLANTA'S population is estimated at 105,600. By the census of 
1900 it was 89,872. The census of 1880 gave Atlanta a 
population of 39,000, and by the city assessment of the next year 
the real estate was valued at $1J:,731,883, and the personal property at 
$7,474,258. By 1890 the population had grown to 65,000 and real estate 
was valued at $39,729,894. In the same period personal property grew 
to $11,906,605. The decade between 1880 and 1890 was a period during 
which Atlanta made remarkable advance, but during the great depression 
through which the whole country has passed since 11890 the progress of 
this city has been astonishing. In spite of a somewhat lower scale of 
valuation for suburban real estate, the assessor's report for 1903 showed 
realty valued at $49,728,034, and personalty $13,628,201. This value was 
created in thirtv-nine years, for Atlanta came out of the Civil War naked 
and desolate. 

By census taken in 1900 the population of Atlanta, by wards, was 
found to be as follows : 

First Ward 15,596 

Second Ward 14,628 

Third W^ard 12.943 

P'ourth Ward 17,072 

Fifth Ward 12,415 

Sixth Ward 14.754 

Seventh Ward 2,464 

Total 89,872 

Since then the population has increased to 105,600. 

A.rea and Expansion. 

Atlanta is a city of magnificent distances, covering about eleven 
square miles, \\lth abundance of room and fresh air, the circular form 
of the city makes it compact, and the residence portions are, as a rule, 
equidistant from the business center. The corporate line is described by a 
radius of a mile and three-quarters. In two places this circle is expanded 
to take in suburban communities which had been formed with irregular 
boundaries before the circular corporation line reached them. These are 
Inman Park and \\'est End, which extend from half a mile to a mile 
beyond the circle which elsewhere forms the corporate limits. 

Atlanta is situated on rolling grond, which gives every facility for 
drainage and contributes materially to the effectiveness of the elaborate 
svstem of sewers. I'his rolling country extends in everv direction, and 



Atlanta — A Twkntif.th-Century City. 



11 




ce:ntury nUIl.DING. 

suburban communities are rapidly extending. The electric lines reach out 
for six or eight miles on all sides of the city, and afford quick and cheap 
access for the outlying towns. As a result of this elaborate system of 
rapid transit, there has been a remarkable expansion of the city withm the 



12 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




PRUDENTIAI, AND EMPIRE BUILDINGS. 

past ten years, and the pressure on the center has been greatly reheved. It 
is estimated that the suburban trains and street-car systems of Atlanta 
bring in and carry out 30,000 people a day. 

City Governxnent. 

The city government of Atlanta is administered by a ^layor and 
General Council and Executive Boards. The legislative body is composed 
of councilmen from the different wards, elected by the whole city, and 
aldermen who are elected in a like manner. The aldermen and councilmen 
vote separately on matters involving the expenditure of money, and the 
concurrence of both bodies is necessary to an appropriation. The ^layor 
has the usual veto power. 

The tax rate is one and a quarter per cent, and the ratio of assessment 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City, 13 

to real value of property is about sixty per cent. The assessed value of 
real and personal property is $03,356,235. 

The city owns property valued at eleven millions, and has a bonded 
debt of $3,481,500. Deducting the Sinking Fund of $37-1,997.68, the 
net debt is $3,306,502.32. There is no floating debt, and the bonded 
debt is limited by the State Constitution to seven per cent, on the taxable 
value of the property. The net debt is therefore $1,000,000 under the 
limit. 

The Charter requires the Mayor and General Council to carry over 
a balance of $175,000 in cash from year to year. This keeps the Treasury 
in good condition and the city is able to float three and one-half per cent, 
bonds at par and above. 

There is a Sinking Fund Commission, which was created by a special 
act of the Legislature, and the Mayor and General Council are required 
to set aside each year from the revenues of the city an amount sufficient 
to retire the bonded debt within thirty years. 

The expenditures of the city for the year 1903 were $1,616,888.49. 
In the same period, the revenues and other receipts, including bonds, the 
proceeds of which were expended, were $3,036,548.33. The difference is 
accounted for by a balance carried over from the previous year. 

Police. 

Atlanta has a fine Police Department, divided into three watches of 
eight hours each. It has valuable auxiliaries in the mounted men and the 
bicycle corps, numbering forty men. 

There is a fine central station, which cost $100,000, and a Police 
signal system with telephone connections. The expenditures of the 
Department during 1903 amounted to $151,151.33. 

Fire Protection. 

Atlanta has a model Fire Department, well equipped with modern 
apparatus, and supplied with water at fire pressure from the pumping- 
station of the waterworks. In 1903 the Department cost $123,335.00; 
the number of fires was 502 and the value of buildings and contents at 
risk $3,070,777. The damage was $142,050. 

The average fire loss for eighteen years was $123,647. 

Sanitary Department. 

Atlanta spent $109,033.54 on sanitation in 1903, and about 250 men 
were employed under the Board of Health in keeping the city clean. 
There are the usual precautions in infectious and contagious diseases. 
The sewer-system of the city was constructed on a plan designed by 
Rudolph Hering, of New York. 



14 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City 




EQUJTABIiE BUILDING. 
Mortua.ry R.ecord. 

The deaths from diseases in Atlanta during 1003 were l,Oil, of which 
92G were of white people and 1,015 of colored. The population within 
the corporate limits in the census year was 89,872. In 1903 it was 



Atlanta — A Twkntieth-Century City. 15 

estimated by the Sanitary Department at 110,000. This makes the rate 
of mortality 17.64-. Of the population in 1903, it is estimated that 44,000 
were colored and 66,000 were white, which makes the rate of mortality 
23.06 for colored and 14.03 for white. 

■Waterw^orRs. 

The Waterworks Department of Atlanta has one of the best plants 
in the country and furnishes pure Avater at the nominal price of ten cents 
per thousand gallons for domestic consumption. Liberal rates are made 
to manufacturers, and even at the low prices charged, the Department 
pays a handsome net revenue to the city. 

The works have a daily pumping capacity of 35,000,000 gallons, and 
the actual consumption in 1903 was 9,136,277 gallons per day. The 
supply comes from the Chattahoochee River, above the city, and above the 
mouth of Peachtree Creek. The river flows down from the mountain 
section, which is sparsely settled, and so far the supply is satisfactory. 
The water passes through a settling basin, after which it is filtered, and 
comes to the city as clear as crystal. 

Se-wers. 

In addition to the amount disbursed by the Sanitary Department, the 
city spent $55,765.43 the same year in constructing sewers. 

•Streets. 

During 1903 Atlanta spent $70,913.08 on streets. Since 1880 the 
city has spent $3,827,171 on streets, sewers and sidewalks. There are 
64.34 miles of paved streets, 233.04 miles of paved sidewalks, and 106.21 
miles of sewers.. There are seven miles of asphalt streets and several 
miles of vitrified brick. The rest is paved with granite blocks, chert 
and macadam. 

Boulevards. 

Atlanta has some beautiful streets _ for driving. Peachtree, 
Washington, Whitehall and Peters Streets and Capitol Avenue are paved 
with asphalt, and this smooth surface makes a fine speedway. Whitehall 
and Peachtree Streets, connecting at the viaduct, form a continuous 
asphalt boulevard three and one-half miles long. This is connected north 
of the city with a macadam pike to Buckhead, and south of the city with 
a chert road to College I'ark, six miles beyond the city limits. This forms 
a continuous boulevard fifteen miles long in a north and south line, with 
a smooth surface, which is well adapted to carriages, bicycles and 
automobiles. 



16 



Atlanta— A Twentieth-Century City. 




GRAND OPERA HOUSE. 



Prominent Structtxres. 

Atlanta has many handsome buildings, notable among which are the 
State Capitol, the new Court-House, the Carnegie Library, of white 
marble, the Grand Opera House, the nine great fire-proof office buildings, 
and the beautiful Piedmont Hotel, which is also a fire-proof structure. 
The Federal Prison, three miles out, is one of the most important in the 
United States. There are several other large hotels, notably the Kimball, 
the Aragon, the Majestic and the Marion. 

The value of buildings erected in 1903 was reported by the City 
Building Inspector as $3,161,445, and the number of permits issued was 
3,441. A marked increase in the average value of dwellings was noted. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 17 

Following" is a list of the ofifice-buildings for which Atlanta is famous. 
They make the heart of Atlanta look like the lower part of Manhattan 
Island. Each has a steel frame, with non-combustible partitions, every 
modern convenience, and a costly interior finish of marble and hard-wood. 
The elevator and janitor service is first-class, and lavatories, barber shops 
and restaurants are well placed. The ground floor in a majority of these 
buildings is occupied by banks, whose offices are superbly finished. The 
population of these palatial hives of industry amounts to several thousand, 
and the facilities they offer for doing business are unequalled elsewhere in 
the Southern vStates. 

List of Fire-Proof Office Buildings. 

Equitable Building, eight stories. 

English-American Building, eleven stories. 

Austell Building, nine stories. 

Prudential Building, ten stories. 

Empire Building, fourteen stories. 

Peters Building, eight stories. 

Century Building, twelve stories. 

^Fourth National Bank Building, sixteen stories. 

*Candler Building, seventeen stories. 

The aggregate cost of these nine structures, exclusive of the land 
on which they rest, was $4,000,000. They are all occupied, except 
the two under construction, in which space is being contracted tor. 

The Building Inspector's record shows that in the nine years since 
the Exposition of 1895, buildings to the value of $15,256,169 have been 
erected. In the same period -iAiGi] dwellings built house a new population 
of 20,000. Since the census of 1900 new dwellings number 2,663. 

Car MTHeel WorKs. 

The Atlanta Carwheel & Manufacturing Company has, on the 
Southern Railway belt line near the waterworks pumping-station, an 
extensive plant for the manufacture of steam-railroad and street-car 
wheels. 

The site covers ten acres and the main building is 230 by 118 feet, 
with several annexes. The works employ 100 to 3 50 men, and this is 
one of the largest establishments of its kind in the country. 

*No\v under constni ctin. 



Business. 



Atlanta's Business 
Grows Four Titnos as 
Fast as the Popular 
tion, and the Popu- 
lation Grows Twice 
as Fast as the Aver- 
age of the United 
States. Postal Re- 
ceipts on its News- 
papers Exceed those 
of Baltimore^ Brook- 
lyn, Buffalo, Omaha 
or New Orleans. . . 



ATLANTA is the business 
center of the Southeast. 
■ Ahiiost all the great con- 
cerns of national extent make this 
city their Southern headquarters, 
and this has created the phenomenal 
demand for offices. As a result, 
Atlanta has more tall fire-proof 
steel-frame office-buildings than any 
other Southern City. 

Atlanta's business is indicated by 
the bank clearings, which were 
SI J 5.000,000 for the year 1903. 
In 1894 they were $56,000,000. 
This shows more clearly than 
words the rapid growth of the city 
as a business center. 



From the latest available data, the trade of Atlanta is estimated 
as follows : 

Wholesale $40,000,000 

Retail 20,000,000 

Manufactures 27,000,000 

Fuel 2,000,000 

Horses and Mules 6,250,000 



Total $95,250,000 



A.tlanta Manufactures in 1Q04'> 

In April 1901 the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce sent letters to most 
of the manufacturers of the city, asking for a statement of the capital 
invested, the number of wage earners, the total wages paid, the value of 
raw material used and the product ; also the percentage of increase in 
each item since June, 1900, when the U. S. Census was taken. The 
returns show an average increase of 53 1-1 per cent, in capital, 52 1-3 per 
cent, in wage earners, 55 per cent, in wages paid, 56.7 per cent, in raw 










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CANDLER BUILDING. 



20 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




GRADY HOSPITAL. 



material used and 62 per cent, in the value of the product. Applying 
these percentages of increase to the Census figures of 1900, gives the 
following for April, 1901 in contrast with 1890 and 1900 : 



1890. 
1900. 
1904. 



Capital. 
; 9,508,963 
16,015,156 
25,309,937 



Wage 

Earners. 

7,957 

9,356 

15,267 



Total 

Wages. 

$3,206,285 

3,103,989 

5,079,385 



Raw 

Material. 

$ 5,914,571 

8,563,524 

14,185,935 



Value 
Product. 

$13,074,037 

16,707,027 
28,985,476 



Atlanta's principal manufacturing establishments are in cotton, iron, 
machinery, lumber, sheet metal, terra cotta, brick, fertilizer, wagons, 
carriages, furniture, candy and crackers, cigars, coffins, chemicals, 
printing, lithographing, electrotyping, stamping, paper and paper bags, 
flour and meal, paints, varnish, cottonseed oil and cake, ice, harness, belts, 
hosiery, underwear, neckwear, woolen goods, gins, engines, sash, doors 
and blinds, mantels, iron beds, spring beds, trunks, desks, tables, pickles, 
condiments, baking powder, bread and cakes, clothing, overalls, millinery, 
suspenders, picture-frames and moulding. 

In money value, cotton goods and fertilizers lead the list. There are 
three large cotton factories, and x\tlanta is headquarters for the Virginia- 
Carolina Chemical Company, the largest producer of fertilizers in the 
South. It is also the headquarters of several large sawmill com])anies. 















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FOURTH NATIONAL BANK BUILDING. 



22 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



A.tlanta BanRs. 

The clearings and deposits of the associated banks of Atlanta are 
reported as follows bv Mr. Darwin G. Jones, manager of the Atlanta 
Clearing House Association : 

CLEARINGS BY YEARS. 

1894 $ 56,589,238.04 

1895 65,318,254.71 

1896 69,026,033.17 

1897 72,005,161.52 

1898 71,964,809.03 

1899 83,058,397.11 

1900 96,375,251.23 

1901 111,755,849.98 

1903 131,200,457.25 

1903 144,993,037.59 

These reports show that business has doubled in seven years. 

Deposits December 1st £a.cK Year. 

The deposits of the Clearing House banks of Atlanta at the end of 
the week nearest December 1st of each year, are reported by Manager 
Jones as follows : 

1893 , $ 3,977,930.98 

1894 4.779,640.99 

1895 6,672,006.87 

1896 5,957,634.51 

1897 6,385,336.51 

1898 6,756,991.36 

1899 7,764,990.85 

1900 9,011,902.85 

1901 11,080,127.68 

1902 12,935,639.60 

1903 13,080,098.35 




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SWIFT I'ERTILIZER WORKS. 



Atlanta — A Twenttkth-Century City. 



25 




jKwiSH orphanage;. 



Government Receipts in tHe SoutHeast. 

One of the facts indicating- the greatness of the territory, of which 
Atlanta is the center, is the Government receipts in the Southeast. 

The receipts of the Federal Government through internal revenue, 
customs., duties and Presidential Post-offices is stated as follows, in the 
latest official reports : 

Alabama $ 1,03;),:3 tl.83 

Florida 3.139,624.5.5 

Georgia 1,813,239.10 

Tennessee 2,942,593.17 

North Carolina 4,933,641,99 

South Carolina 1,063,063.17 

Total $14,930,503.81 

GroAvtH of Postal Business. 

The growth of business is strikingly shown by tlie postal receipts for 
the year ending June 30th, 1890, 189-i and 1903: 

1890 $159,262.61 

1894 201,649.92 

1903 477.047.45 

Comparison with other cities, by various barometers of trade and 
industry, indicates that Atlanta does more business than any city of 



24 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



100,000 population in the United States. As a newspaper center it is 
phenomenal. The receipts from second-class mail matter at Atlanta were 
$55,658.83 during- the year ending June 30, 1903. This shows that on 
newspapers and periodicals Atlanta pays the Government more than 
Brooklyn, Baltimore, Buffalo, W^ashington, Omaha, New Orleans, 
Louisville, or Indianapolis. 

The receipts of the Atlanta Post-office for the year ending June 30, 
1903, were $177,047.-15, an increase of fourteen and four-fifths per cent, 
over the receipts of the preceding year. 

Insurance. 

Atlanta is the third insurance center of the United States, and easily 
first in the South. 

The receipts of premiums reported to agencies here are estimated 
at $8,000,000, about equally divided between fire and life insurance. 

Atlanta is the headquarters of the Southeastern Tariff Association. 
There are no burdensome insurance laws in this State and taxes are 
reasonable. 




jEVN'iSJi TEMPLE. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City, 



25 




FIRST METHODIST CHURCH. 

Cotton. 

Atlanta is the center of large cotton operations, and receives about 
115,000 bales annually. There are several large warehouses and 
compresses. The 12 lines of railroads give ample facilities for collecting 
the crop from adjoining territory and forwarding it overland to eastern 
mills or to the coast for export. Both of the Round Bale Companies are 
represented in this city. 

Transportation. 

Atlanta is the railroad center of the Southeast. Twelve radiating 
lines furnish ample facilities for distribution of manufactures and 
merchandise from this point. Five of these lines belong to the Southern 
Railway. Here is a list of the lines : 

Southern to Washington. Southern to Birmingham. 

Southern to Knoxville. Southern to Fort Valley. 

Georgia Railroad to Augusta. Southern to Brunswick. 



26 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City, 




CARNEGIE LIBRARY. 



* Seaboard Air Line to Birmingham. 

Seaboard Air Line to Portsmouth. 

Western & Atlantic to Chattanooga. 
.Atlanta & West Point to Montgomery. 

Central of Georgia Railway to Savannah. 

Louisville & Nashville to Knoxville. 

The connections of these make many more routes over which there 
are through trains, as for example, to Columbus and Albany. 

The Southern Railway, Central of Georgia Railway, and Atlanta and 
West Point Railway have let the contract for a union passenger station 
at the corner of iMitchell and Madison streets, and will spend about a 
million dollars on the structure. Altogether they will spend two millions 
on the station and terminal facilities connected with it. 

Atlanta's hotel accommodations are superior to those of almost any 
other city in the South. The Piedmont is a fire-proof building of the best 
class, with steel frame. The Kimball, the Aragon, the Majestic, and the 
Marion have long enjoyed an enviable reputation with the traveling public. 
There are numerous smaller hotels and any number of boarding-houses. 
Atlanta is the stop-over point for the Florida winter travel, both going 
and coming, and is rapidly becoming a summer resort by reason of its 
elevation, bracing atmosphere, and cool climate. 

♦Under construction— nearly completed. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Cuntury City. 



2/ 



THe R.adius of Distribution. 

Atlanta's advantages as a distributing point are shown by the central 
location with reference to Southeastern towns. There are seventy-nine 
towns of exceeding 4,000 population in Alabama, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The average distances of these towns 
bv States from Atlanta, Savannah and Nashville are as follows: 



ATLANTA 

Alabama 195 miles 

North Carolina 400 miles 

South Carolina 239 miles 

Georgia 147 miles 

Mississippi 423 miles 



SAVANNAH 

41.9 miles 

352 miles 

193 miles 

233 miles 

606 miles 



NASHVILLE 

269 miles 
629 miles 
526 miles 
386 miles 
440 miles 



1,404 miles 1,803 miles 2,250 miles 
Average distance of towns 

in five States 280.8 miles 360.6 miles 450 miles 




COURT HOUSE FROM THE SOUTH. 



28 



Atlanta — A Twe;ntieth-Ci;ntury City. 



Street Railways. 

Atlanta has a fine system of street railways, with one hundred and 
forty-two miles of track radiating from the heart of the city to the 
residence portion and thence to the suburbs. In some directions they 
reach out for eight miles, as in the case of College Park, Decatur and 
the Chattahoochee River. 

The service is excellent, and there are one hundred miles of tracks 
w'ithin the city limits. The uniform fare is five cents, but there are 
transfers from incoming lines to any part of the city. Almost any spot 
on a car line, within the city limits, can be reached from any other point 
inside the city for one fare. 

There is ample service to all the parks and resorts, and an electric line 
to Marietta is nearly completed. 

I^rigHt and Po^ver. 

Atlanta is well supplied with gas at a low figure — $1.00 per thousand 
cubic feet. It is so economical that gas stoves are very largely used for 
cooking purposes and not a few for heating. 




LAKE ABANA — GRANT PARK, 



Atlanta— A Twkntieth-Ckntury City. 



29 




NORTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Georgia Railway and Electric Company has two large plants 
for the generation of electric current for light and power. The city is 
well illuminated by arc lights and electricity is largely used by business 
offices and residences. 

The same company has a steam-heating plant, and pipes have been 
laid in the principal streets for this serYice. 

Great Povi^er Plant. 

The xA.tlanta Water and Electric Power Company has erected on a 
massive masonry dam across the Chattahoochee River, at Bull Sluice 
shoals, fifteen miles from Atlanta, and in a few months the plant will be 
completed and equipped to deliver 11,000 horse-power of electric current 
in the city. The total investment will be $3,000,000. The pov/er plant 
will give a tremendous stimulus to manufacturing. 

As the steam and electric powers already in existence furnish 45,000 
horse-power, which is in constant use, the addition of 11,000 horse-power 
will increase the manufacturing industries of Atlanta by twenty-five per 
cent. This is considered a very moderate estimate ; for within the three 
and three-fourths vears following the census of June, 1900, the product 
of Atlanta factories increased from $10,721,000 to $27,417,000, and the 
number of wage earners from 9,368 to more than 14,000. 



30 



Atlanta — A Twentikth-Century City 







SOUTHERN EE.MA.IE COLLEGE. 



Rapid OroAvtH of Business. 

The business of Atlanta is gTowing four times as fast as its populaticin, 
although the population grows twice as fast as that of the country. The 
rate of increase in population for tlie United States has been two per cent, 
per annum during the past decade. In Atlanta, it has been approximately 
four per cent. During the year 190;i, the business of Atlanta increased 
fifteen per cent, as measured by postal receipts. Since the Exposition of 
1895, bank clearings have more than doubled and bank deposits have 
nearly trebled. 

CHamber of Commerce. 

During the thirty years of their existence the Chamber of Commerce, 
and its predecessor, the Board of Trade, have been active in protecting 
and promoting the interests of Atlanta. Meetings in the public interest 
have usually been called at the Chamber of Commerce, and it was there 
that the first meeting to organize the Cotton States and International 
Exposition was held. All important questions affecting business have 
been discussed there and a score or so of standingf committees have been 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



31 



constituted by the Chamber to look after the interests of Atlanta. The 
Chamber of Commerce is the open forum for the discussion of all matters 
which affect the general welfare of the communit}', and in this way the 
organization has exerted a powerful influence. 

The present officers are : 

Robert F. Maddox, President ; Samuel D. Jones, Vice-President ; 
Walter G. Cooper, Secretary, and Joseph T. Orme, Treasurer. 

Daily Newspapers. 

Atlanta has three daily newspapers. The Constitution, a morning 
paper, acquired national reputation under the management of Henry W. 
Grady, and has continued under the management of Clark Howell to hold 
a leading position among the newspapers of America. 

The Atlanta Journal is a large afternoon paper which acquired 
national reputation under the management of Ploke Smith, and has 
continued to grow under the management of James R. Gray. 

The third daily newspaper is the Atlanta News, a penny afternoon 
paper organized during the summer of 1903. It appeared August l:th 
and rapidly acquired a large circulation. A bright future is predicted. 
Editors, John Temple Graves and Charles Daniel ; Business Manager, 
Chas. Daniel. 








WA'J'ER WORKS PUMPING STATION. 




TECHNOLOGIC/I, SCHOOTi. 

E^ducational Facilities. 



A TLANTA has an imposing array of educational institutions, 

yLA extending from the pubHc school system to the great polytechnic 

institute known as the Georgia Institute of Technology. There 

is a variety of technical schools, including law, medicine, dentistry, 

handicrafts, business colleges, industrial schools and divinity schools. 

There are sixteen white and six colored Grammar schools, a Girls' 
High School, a Boys' High School, and a night school. The total 
expenditure for these institutions during the year 1903 was v$18-±,286.20. 
The cost per pupil was $ir).Tr>, and the number of pupils 11,000. 

There is the usual organization of Superintendent, Assistant 
Superintendent, principal and teachers, under a Board of Education. 

The teachers meet in normal class once a week, and many of them 
spend their vacations at summer schools of the great universities. There 
is a fine esprit de corps, and excellent work is done. 

Atlanta's great educational institution is the Georgia Institute of 
Technology, supported by the State of Georgia, with an additional annual 
appropriation from the city. It has about 500 students, and the work is 
the best of its kind in the South. There are machine shops in wood and 
in the metals, a blacksmith shop, a textile school, and department of 
electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. In addition there is 
excellent work in mathematics, chemistry, and the other scientific schools, 
with a good education in English. 

Graduates of this institution have been distinguished for the 
thoroughness and the practical value of their education, which has enabled 
them to go from the shops and recitation-rooms directly into manufacturing 
and engineering pursuits. 



Atlanta — A Twextietu-Century City. 33 

A number of them hold very high and responsible positions in the 
management of great enterprises, and almost without exception, the 
graduates hold good positions in jjroductive industry. 

There are 600 students attending the medical colleges of Atlanta. 

The Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons is one of the best 
equipped in the countr\', and its course is very thorough. It has a very 
large attendance from all parts of the Southern States, and some from 
beyond that territory. 

The Eclectic College of Medicine and Surgery is also well attended. 

The Dental College holds a position of eminence among institutions 
of that kind. 

The members of the IMcdical and Dental professions of the city rank- 
high. 

There are several excellent institutions for the education of girls, 
notably the Agnes Scott Institute, the Southern Female College and 
the Washington Seminary, 

The Southern Alilitary College is an excellent institution for boys, 
and Hunter's School for boys has a fine reputation. 

In the institutions of higher education there are about 5,000 students, 
nearly equally divided between whites and blacks. 

The people of Atlanta have raised $250,000 which has been tendered 
the Synods of the Southern Presbyterian Church, to secure the location 
of a $1,000,000 University in the city or its immediate suburbs. 
Commissioners from the Synods of the Southern States met in Atlanta in 
December, 1903, and voted to accept the tender. 

Of the amount subscribed, $150,000 comes from Presbyterians and 
$100,000 from the public, including all classes and almost all religious 
denominations. Of the $100,000 contributed by the public, about $25,000 
came from working men and salaried employees of business houses. In 
some cases even domestic servants contributed. In all there are about 
3,000 subscribers for amounts ranging from 10 cents to $25,000. At a 
great mass meeting held in the Grand Opera House, Monday evening, 
]\Iarch 30th, $50,000 was raised. 

THe Carrvegie Library. 

The Carnegie Library of Atlanta was organized May Gth, 1899, and 
received all of the property and books of the Young Men's Library, which 
had been a subscription library, and had 15,000 books and property worth 
$40,000, when the city received a gift of $100,000 from Mr. Andrew 
Carnegie for a building. Mr. Carnegie subsequently added $25,000 to 
the original gift for the building, and $20,000 for stock and furniture. 
Total cost of the Library equipped was $115,000. The lot, which was a 
gift of the Young Men's Library Association, cost $35,000. 



34 



Atlanta — A Twe;ntieth-Cf;ntury City. 



For the year 1!)04 the City of Atlanta has appropriated $10,100 for 
the maintenance of the Library. 

There are in the Library 26,105 volumes classified and catalogued 
after the most approved methods. There are 13,420 registered borrowers, 
and the circulation for 1903 was 111,558 volumes for home use, about 400 
volumes daily being issued. 

The State Library has a large collection of law books, and a rare 
collection of colonial history of this and other Southern States. 

Institutions for Negro education. 

Atlanta has some of the largest institutions for negro education in 
the country. They are : Atlanta University, Clark University, Gammon 
Theological Seminary, the i\tlanta Baptist College, Morris Brown College, 
and Spelman Seminary. 

The Spelman Seminary has a fine training school for nurses, and 
industrial training for women. 

Clark LTniversity has industrial training for men. 

Theatres. 

Atlanta has two fine theatres — the Grand and the Bijou. 

The Atlanta Lecture Association is one of the best in the United 
States, and regularly brings the best talent of the country to the Atlanta 
platform. Its membership is about 1,000. The Baptist Tabernacle has 
a lyceum course. 




AGNES SCOTT INSTITUTE. 



R^esidential Advantages. 




W. p. INMAN S RESIDEXCK. 



IT is hard to enum- 
erate the advan- 
tages of Hfe in 
Atlanta. They are so 
many that it is impos- 
sible to catalogue them 
all in brief space. 
The climate is the best 
enjoyed by any city 
ill the country, the 
spirit of the people 
makes anyone wel- 
come who is worthy of 
a welcome anywhere, 
and the opportunities 
for business, education, culture, enjoyment and social pleasure 
unsurpassed. The institutions for the preservation of order, sanitation 
and public comfort are excellent. The fraternities are numerously 
represented, and fraternity life is a feature of the city's many attractions. 
Visitors from a distance are always charmed with the residence 
streets of Atlanta. The homes are made attractive by grassy lawns, 
which beautify the scene and avoid the heat of those cities where solid 
blocks of flats rise directly from the sidewalk. 

There are many beautiful suburbs which are easily and quickly 
reached by the car lines, and these are constantly extending. Atlanta has 
a fine market, supplied at all times v.ith fish, game and vegetables, and 
an abundance of fresh meats. The shops and stores are up-to-date, and 
conducted in metropolitan style. 

THe Climate. 

Atlanta is on the crest of the ridge dividing the watershed of the 
Atlantic Ocean from that of the Gulf of Mexico, and its elevation of 
1,053 feet gives a bracing atmosphere. The mean annual temperature, 
based on all available records, is 60.8 degrees. The highest annual mean 
was Gi.O in 1871, preceded by the lowest, 56.9, in 1868. The mean 
tem.perature of the winter months is 44.1, of the spring months, 60.5, of 
the summer, 77.0, and of the autumn, 61.5. The highest monthly mean 
was 82.2, in July, 1875, the lowest, 34.4, in February, 1895. The 
warmest winter month was December, 1889, with a mean of 57.2 ; the 
coolest summer month was June, 1866, mean, 68.9. The highest 



36 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City, 



temperature on record is 100, which occurred on July 19, 1887, and is 
the only instance of its kind. The lowest temperature on record is — 8.5, 
on February 13, 1899. The temperature has registered at zero, or 
below, but on three other dates in the last twenty-six years, viz. : — 
— 1, January 6, 1881; - — 2, January 11, 1886, and zero February 8, 1895. 
Summer nights are cool and the low percentage of humidity makes 
the days comfortable. The average date of first killing frost is November 
ith, and of the last in spring, March 39th, leaving an average growing 
season of 219 days. 

MontHly Mean Temperature. 

The average monthly temperature for each month, as shown by the 
record of many years, is given below : 



January -42.6 

Februarv 45.7 

March I 51.7 

April 60.9 

May 69.0 

June 75.6 



July 78.6 

August 76.9 

September 71.7 

October 61.5 

November 51.4 

December 44.1 



Annual average 60.8 




WASHINGTON STREET. 



Atlanta — A Twentirth-Century City. 



37 




I\.ainfall by 
MontHs. 

The normal precip- 
itation by months by 
the Weather Bureau : 

January, 5.10 inch- 
es ; February, 5.23 ; 
March, 5.65; April, 
4.23 ; May, 3.38 ; 
June, 4.04 ; July, 
L22 ; August, 4.58 ; 
September, 3.51 ; Oc- 
tober, 2.36; Novem- 
ber, 3.49 ; December, 
4.29. 

The annual average 
rainfall is 50.08. 
ParKs. 

Atlanta has several 
fine parks and places 
of resort. 

The L. P. Grant 
Park, on the edge of 
the city near a battle- 
field of 1864, is a sylvan retreat of rare beauty, with a Zoo and Cyclorama 
added to the attractions of nature. It is the resort of picnic parties from 
the surrounding towns for many miles. 

Piedmont Park, the site of fairs and expositions, is in the suburbs, 
half a mile beyond the city limits, on one of the battle-grounds of the 
Civil War. It has a lake and a picturesque site, with a number of large 
buildings. 

Lakewood, as its name suggests, affords opportunity for aquatic 
sports. The same is true of East Lake, where there is elaborate 
provision for bathing. Ponce de Leon Springs, wnthin the city limits, and 
the Chattahoochee River, eight miles out, are places of resort. 

The Kirkwood Land Company has in preparation one of the most 
beautiful residence parks in America, and Atkins Park will be another 
place of loveliness. 

To all these parks and places of resort there is an excellent street-car 
service. The exposition grounds at Piedmont Park also have connection 
with the city by the Southern Railway. 



CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



38 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



Department of tHe Gulf. 

In 1903 the Department of the Gulf, U. S. Army, was re-estabHshed 
and headquarters located at Atlanta, and the following officers are in 
command: Brigadier-General Thomas H. Berry, commanding; Major 
Millard F. Waltz, Adjutant General; Major Lewis E. Goodier, Judge- 
Advocate ; Lieut.-Colonel Samuel R. Jones, Chief Quartermaster ; Lieut.- 
Colonel Henry B. Osgood, Chief Commissary ; Lieut.-Colonel Edwin F. 
Gardiner, Chief Surgeon ; Major Elijah W. Halford, Chief Paymaster ; 
Captain Manly B. Curry, Paymaster; Lieut. H. H. Sheen, A. D. C. ; 
Lieut. A. M. Ferguson, A. D. C. 

Fort McPKersoii. 

An Army post is always an attraction because of the parades and 
the music, and its disbursements add materially to a city's income. 
Fort }\IcPherson, four miles out on the Central of Georgia Railway and 
two car lines, is one of the best-constructed posts in the L^nited States 
and nmch visited by citizens. 

It is a community in itself, with an independent waterworks system 
and a complete system of sewerage. There are permanent barracks, 
ample for one regiment, and during the Spanish War several thousand 




CAIMTOI, A\ENUlv \TKW FROM WOODWARD AVENUE. 



Atlanta — A Twi^ntieth-Century City, 



39 



/^fr'^^^^^tfs^ 




RESIDENCE OE ASA G. CANDLER. 

soldiers were quartered liere at one time by using wooden barracks in 
addition. The officers" quarters are unusually good, and there is a 
well-appointed hospital. 

Hospitals. 

In the Grady Hospital Atlanta has a large and well-equipped 
institution supported by the city. There are in addition, St. Joseph's 
Infirmary and the Presbyterian Hospital, besides a number of excellent 
sanatoriums conducted by physicians, notably those of Drs. Elkin and 
Cooper, Dr. Noble and Dr. Robinson, the Halcyon and the National 
Surgical Institute. 

CKtxrcKes. 

Atlanta has 141 churches and the attendance on religious services is 
one of the noticeable features of the city's life. This city is headquarters 
for several important denominational organizations, cs])ecially those of 
missionary work. It is the home of the Bishop of Georgia, Right 
Reverend C. K. Nelson (Episcopal), and of Bishop W. A. Candler of the 
Methodist Church. 

The Baptist Home Mission Board is located here, and there is a 
similar organization of the Presbyterian Church represented. The 



40 



Atlanta — A Twijntiuth-Century City, 



Catholic Marist College and a convent are located near the two leading 
churches of that faith. 

The colored people have two Bishops in Atlanta, Bishop W. J. 
Gaines and Bishop H. M. Turner. 

OrpHan A.sylu.nis. 

Atlanta has four orphan asylums. The Methodist Orphan Asylum 
is located at Decatur, several miles east of the city, and the Baptist 
Orphan Asylum is at Hapeville, nine miles south of Atlanta. The 
Jewish Orphan Asylum is within the city limits. 

The Carrie Steele Orphans' Home is an institution for colored 
children ahout three miles east of the city. 

"Other A.syluTns. 

The Home for the Friendless and the Florence Crittenden Home for 
unfortunate women are charities of a high order, carefully managed 
under the direction of some of the best women in Atlanta. 

In addition there are nunicrous free kindergfartcns. 




"rEQUIESCAT in pace." 
gate o^ west view cemetery. 



